Ikea has converted the Boyfriend Bench into a fully furnished space. Earlier this month the Ikea in Sydney, Australia ran a four-day trial of Manland, a short-term area for males to park themselves while the missus goes shopping unfettered by the unfortunate modern syndrome of Male Whining. Something like a G-rated Man Cave, Manland is stocked with issues of GQ, free hot dogs, X-Boxes, the game on the telly, and gaming tables both electronic and analog.
In the past week, Manland has gotten tons of international positive press. Am I the only one who thinks this idea reeks of the sad and self-willing infantilization of the modern male? The title of this video on YouTube is "Ikea Introduces Nursery for Men." Perhaps they should hang a gigantic pair of shiny car keys from the ceiling while a servo arm makes it dangle and jangle.
Years ago men were supposed to be able to withstand hardship and provide. That meant doing things like going out in crappy weather and performing hard manual labor. But nowadays we're too soft to stroll through a climate-controlled environment lined with soft things to sit on without arguing with our wives. Hell in a handbasket, folks.
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